Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet approve the application for Discretionary Business Rate Relief for Rotherham and District Citizens Advice Bureau in accordance with the details set out in Section 6 to this report for the 2024/25 financial year.

Consideration was given to the report which set out the application for the award of Discretionary Business Rate Relief for Rotherham and District Citizens Advice Bureau. This was in accordance with the Council’s Discretionary Business Rates Relief Policy (approved by Cabinet on 12 December 2016).

Rotherham and District Citizens Advice Bureau was a registered charity which provided free information and advice to the community in Rotherham, ensuring that the Borough’s citizens did not suffer through lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities. The charity actively worked to raise issues of social injustice to enable improvements for all. RMBC had recently commissioned the organisation to provide their services for a three-year period from 2024/25 to 2026/27. They were contracted to provide advice on a range of issues pertinent to the community of Rotherham, including debt, benefits, immigration, energy, consumer rights, and housing. They were a highly respected organisation, providing an accessible borough wide service, and had good working relations with the Council and partners.

The organisation moved to new premises on 17 June 2024 to enable them to reintroduce the delivery of face-to-face advice. The temporary premises they had were not large enough to facilitate this and staff were having to work from home. The new premises were now open two days per week for appointments and this would be increased to five days per week together with two drop-in days. This would enable the organisation to see more vulnerable people whom they were not seeing through outreach and remote services.

Rotherham and District Citizens Advice benefited from an award of discretionary relief at their former premises, and at their temporary premises, which was awarded continuously from 2017 to the date of their relocation to the new premises. The proposed relief would maintain this position.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approve the application for Discretionary Business Rate Relief for Rotherham and District Citizens Advice Bureau in accordance with the details set out in Section 6 to this report for the 2024/25 financial year.